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There are many reasons to become a professional welder. This growing career field offers many opportunities for those applicants with the right training and skills. Here are five reasons why you should consider a career in welding.

1. Growing Demand

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) estimates that an additional 14 million welders will be needed by 2020. This means now is a perfect time to receive professional training and enter this growing career field. In addition, there are hundreds of current welders expected to retire in the coming years. Because of this and the improving economy, now is the ideal time for a jobseeker to consider a new career as a professional welder.

2. Employers Need Qualified Applicants

Despite the demand for more welders, many employers are struggling to find enough qualified applicants. Employers are looking for applicants who understand the technology used in today’s welding field. They also look for candidates with a strong understanding of how to read blueprints and practice proper safety procedures. The NAM said that a recent poll of manufacturers shows that 81 percent say they cannot find enough skilled workers. This is because a growing number of welding applicants are scoring below proficient in the areas of math and science. Many employers are turning away applicants because many lack the training and skills that are needed in this profession. That give students of Advanced an advantage when it comes to finding work in the welding field.

3. The Training You Need is Available at ACI

Advanced offers a great professional welding training program, helping students launch a new career in this growing industry. Advanced Career Institute’s welding program is designed to prepare each student to obtain a welder certification. Students will also receive training in a variety of skills including construction site safety, blueprint and site plan reading, principles of metallurgy, construction math and welding tool usage. Learn more about our welder training program.

4. Work in a Variety of Industries and Places

Professional welders can find work in a variety of industries and sectors, including general construction, the energy sector and manufacturing. Welders are in-demand in the booming natural gas sector, bridge construction and in factories. It is important for welders to have a strong training foundation to use in a variety of fields.

5. A Career for Women

The welding profession is not only for men. According to the United States Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, the number of female welders in the U.S. has increased by over 2 percent over the past decade. Labor officials say this points to a trend of more women getting into the welding industry. Welding is a great career choice for women. More and more are building long lasting careers in this growing field. As you can see, there are many reasons to consider a new career in welding. Now is the perfect time to enter this growing career field. Manufacturers and employees in every part of the country are seeking out qualified welders who have professional training. Advanced Career Institute is leading the way in helping a new generation of professional welders learn the skills today’s employers demand. Looking for a new, challenging career that allows you to work with your hands in a variety of environments? There are many reasons to choose this career field, but any one of these 5 listed are reason enough to seek our professional welding training at ACI. Contact us to become a welder today!

EDITORS NOTE: Advanced Career Institute has discontinued our School Bus Driving Program. We still offer our Commercial Bus Driver Program at select campuses. Buses are an environmentally friendly form of travel, at least when compared to other transit modes. The bus industry, which is growing and has a demand for professionally trained drivers, is considered a cleaner form of travel when compared to cars, trains, and airplanes. The American Bus Association Foundation and The Union of Concerned Scientists have reported that buses and motor coaches are the most environmentally friendly form of transportation. According to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a couple riding a bus will cut their carbon emissions by almost half when compared with driving even a hybrid car. “And if they take the motorcoach rather than flying, they will cut their emissions by 55 to 75 percent, depending on the distance they travel,” says the ABA. Other environment statistics from the ABA show that: • Buses provide 207 passenger miles per gallon of fuel, compared to 92 passenger MPG for commuter rail, 44 passenger MPG for domestic airlines, and 27 MPG for single passenger automobiles. • Each bus has the potential to take as many as 55 cars off of the road, reducing congestion, saving fuel, and significantly cutting emissions. • The motorcoach industry is growing, providing some 700 million passenger trips annually. The FAA says in 2011, the airlines provided 732 million passenger trips. In contrast, long-distance passenger rail carried 30.2 million passengers in 2012. • According to DePaul University of Chicago, intercity bus service grew by 7.5 percent between the end of 2011 and 2012—the highest rate of growth in four years. Conventional bus lines expanded by 1.4%, in part due to Greyhound and Peter Pan’s new express services. • Daily departures on express bus carriers surged in 2012, up by 30.6%, and for the first time, they exceeded more than 1,000 daily scheduled operations. Because buses are considered one of the cleanest forms of travel, they are growing in popularity as a form of transportation for public transit departments and businesses. “The motorcoach industry is committed to continuing to be the most environmentally friendly form of transportation,” said ABA President and CEO Peter J. Pantuso. “Our ABA member companies every day provide high-quality, safe transportation to hundreds of thousands of people. Our members are leaders when it comes to improving the environment because they know that improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions make their companies better. We are proud of the work our industry is doing and will continue to do.” Because of this environmentally friendly form of travel, the bus industry is in need of thousands of drivers who have professional training. The Advanced Career Institute’s commercial bus training program can help a person start a new career as a bus driver in an industry that is not only growing but helping to lead the way in environmentally friendly travel.

Young professional welders are in demand, especially those with relevant training from a respected school like Advanced Career Institute. With the average age of today’s professional welder 53, companies are looking for younger welders to enter the profession in order to offset the large number that will be retiring in the coming years. Not only do employers want to prepare for the thousands of welders that will be retiring, but they also want younger workers with relevant training as the welding industry has changed over the years and new technology is put into use. Training for a career in welding involves a careful review of safety processes. Other aspects of the training program include blueprint reading, the ability to give estimates, and cutting torch operations. There are also specialized fields that welders can enter, such as underwater welding. The Advanced Career Institute’s welding program is designed to prepare each student to obtain American Welding society welder performance certification and students will also receive training in a variety of skills, including construction site safety, blue print and site plan reading, principles of metallurgy, construction math and welding tool usage. Welding jobs are becoming much more complex and the technology involved is also changing rapidly, especially with the growth of the energy and health care sector, which are constantly building state of the art buildings and infrastructure. However, even though the demand for professional welders is growing, construction and welding companies will still look to those who have professional training and the right type of certification when filling vacancies.

EDITORS NOTE: Advanced Career Institute has discontinued our School Bus Driving Program. We still offer our Commercial Bus Driver Program at select campuses. Close to 500,000 school buses travel America’s roads each day, and more than 2.3 billion gallons of fuel are saved each year in the process, according to an American School Bus Council Report. Over 25 million students ride on school buses each day and school buses are considered the safest way to travel to and from school. Thus, school buses play an important role in the nation's education. “The school bus industry has a long history of safely and reliably transporting children to and from school each day,” John McKinney, Vice President of Operations at International Truck and Engine Corporation and member of ASBC, said in a press release. “Importantly, however, school buses are also the most economical and environmentally-friendly way to transport students too.” If America’s school buses were shut down it would take over 17 million additional cars to transport children to school and an additional 62.4 billion miles of car travel, according to the ASBC. School buses play an important role in America’s education system each day by transporting kids to and from school. A career as a school bus driver is a noble and important profession, and the value of school bus drivers has school districts all across the country constantly searching for more drivers, especially those that have received professional training and can demonstrate a commitment to safety. The Advanced Career Institute’s school bus driver training program introduces the students to the procedures and skills found in the school bus driving industry while preparing each individual to obtain a Class B bus CDL with school bus certification and endorsements.

EDITORS NOTE: Advanced Career Institute has discontinued our School Bus Driving Program. We still offer our Commercial Bus Driver Program at select campuses. Michael Cross has worked as a school bus driver for over 20 years and has been the director of a school bus driving department at three different school districts. He says the demand for quality school bus drivers is large, and each district he has worked for is constantly hiring more drivers. But, while a good career can be found as a professional school bus driver, Cross also says potential applicants should be aware that the job requires a certain type of person. “It’s a great job in terms of scheduling and being able to not have to work from behind a desk,” Cross said. “But it also requires some skill because driving a school bus isn’t just like driving your car.” Cross said the first piece of advice he would give a person considering a career as a school bus driver is to get some form of professional training. “Training is important because different situations come up all the time, and trained drivers are much better at handling those situations,” Cross said. Cross also said a good school bus driver training program can better prepare drivers when it comes to vehicle care and maintenance. “It’s true that a lot of companies and schools have maintenance professionals,” Cross said, “but believe me, we are always interested in drivers that know how to take care of their bus because it helps everyone out.” Cross said school bus drivers are more than chauffeurs but also act as “teachers.” “We encourage our bus drivers to interact with students, safely, of course, and there is a lot of problem-solving on the job,” Cross said. “It’s not for everybody but a lot of people who have the right personality can be very successful and find a lot of enjoyment in (being a school bus driver).” The growth of school districts, new transportation regulations, and the upcoming retirement of many current school bus drivers have created a great need for new drivers. A shortage of school bus drivers exists across the country but students of Advanced Career Institute’s school bus driver program are helping to meet the demand. The school bus driver program at Advanced prepares students to obtain Class B bus CDL with school bus certification and endorsements. Students are also taught the skills to operate a school bus safely and to provide proper care and maintenance for a school bus. “I really encourage people to consider this as a line of work and it’s something I have enjoyed doing for over 20 years,” Cross said. “If you can get some good training and experience behind the wheel of (a school bus) it can really put you ahead of the pack when looking for a job.”